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Jonesboro, Arkansas - 7 schools
An equity score of 36/100 ranks Nettleton School District #188 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,339 per pupil, Nettleton School District ranks #157 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,633
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$11,339
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Nettleton School District operates 7 public schools serving 3,633 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 elementary, 2 combined, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Craighead County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,339 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 52.3% local, 30.8% state, and 17.0% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 36/100, ranked #188 of 250 in Arkansas against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 446.5:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 31.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 55.3% African American, 24.6% White, 11.6% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is University Hgts. Elem. School, with a diversity index of 66.4/100.
Its largest campus is Nettleton High School, enrolling 1,054 students (28% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Nettleton Steam School, at 313 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Nettleton High School accounts for 28.5% of all Nettleton School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Nettleton School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Nettleton School District school enrollment varies 3.4× across entities
Nettleton School District school enrollment ranges from 313 students (lowest) to 1,054 students (highest), a spread of 741 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Nettleton School District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 93.2% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Nettleton School District student-counselor ratio is 447:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Nettleton School District chronic absenteeism rate is 31.6% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
How many schools are in Nettleton School District?
Nettleton School District has 7 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 3 elementary, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 3,633 students.
How much does Nettleton School District spend per student?
Nettleton School District spends $11,339 per student. The district has an equity score of 36/100, ranking #188 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Nettleton School District?
Nettleton School District students are 55.3% African American, 24.6% White, 11.6% Hispanic or Latino, 1.0% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Nettleton School District?
Nettleton School District has an equity score of 36/100, ranking #188 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.